icu-project.org Reviews

ICU (International Components for Unicode) is a mature, widely used set of C/C++ and Java libraries providing Unicode and globalization support for software applications. It is widely portable and gives applications the same results on all platforms and between C/C++ and Java software. ICU is released under a nonrestrictive open source license that is suitable for use with both commercial software and with other open source or free software.

Here are some highlights of the services provided by ICU:

Code page conversion: Convert text data to or from Unicode and nearly any other character set or encoding. ICU’s conversion tables are based on charset data collected by IBM over many decades and are the most complete available anywhere.
Collation: Compare strings according to the conventions and standards of a particular language, region, or country. ICU’s collation is based on the Unicode Collation Algorithm plus locale-specific comparison rules from the Common Locale Data Repository, a comprehensive source for this type of data.
Formatting: Format numbers, dates, times, and currency amounts according to the conventions of a chosen locale. This includes translating month and day names into the selected language, choosing appropriate abbreviations, ordering fields correctly, etc. This data also comes from the Common Locale Data Repository.
Time calculations: Multiple types of calendars are provided beyond the traditional Gregorian calendar. A thorough set of timezone calculation APIs is provided.
Unicode support: ICU closely tracks the Unicode standard, providing easy access to all of the many Unicode character properties, Unicode normalization, case folding, and other fundamental operations as specified by the Unicode standard.
Regular expression: ICU’s regular expressions fully support Unicode while providing very competitive performance.
BiDi: Support for handling text containing a mixture of left-to-right (English) and right-to-left (Arabic or Hebrew) data.
Text boundaries: Locate the positions of words, sentences, paragraphs within a range of text, or identify locations that would be suitable for line wrapping when displaying the text.
And much more. Refer to the ICU User Guide for details.

Why Unicode?
Unicode (and the parallel ISO 10646 standard) defines the character set necessary for efficiently processing text in any language and for maintaining text data integrity. In addition to global character coverage, the Unicode standard is unique among character set standards because it also defines data and algorithms for efficient and consistent text processing. This simplifies high-level processing and ensures that all conformant software produces the same results. The widespread adoption of Unicode over the last decade made text data truly portable and formed a cornerstone of the internet.

What is Unicode?
Globalized software, based on Unicode, maximizes market reach and minimizes cost. Globalized software is built and installed once and yet handles text for and from users worldwide and accommodates their cultural conventions. It minimizes cost by eliminating per-language builds, installations, and maintenance updates.

Why ICU4C?
The C and C++ languages and many operating system environments do not provide full support for Unicode and standards-compliant text handling services. Even though some platforms do provide good Unicode text handling services, portable application code cannot make use of them. The ICU4C libraries fill in this gap. ICU4C provides an open, flexible, portable foundation for applications to use for their software globalization requirements. ICU4C closely tracks industry standards, including Unicode and CLDR (Common Locale Data Repository).

Why ICU4J?
Java provides a very strong foundation for global programs, and IBM and the ICU team played a key role in providing globalization technology into Sun’s Java. But because of its long release schedule, Java cannot always keep up-to-date with evolving standards. The ICU team continues to extend Java’s Unicode and internationalization support, focusing on improving performance, keeping current with the Unicode standard, and providing richer APIs, while remaining as compatible as possible with the original Java text and internationalization API design.

Who Uses ICU?
ICU is used by a wide range of products, companies, and organizations, including major tech companies like Adobe, Amazon, Apple, Google, IBM, Microsoft, and many others. It is also utilized in various open-source projects and by government institutions, demonstrating its widespread adoption and trust within the industry.

In summary, ICU is a reputable and widely used set of libraries for Unicode and globalization support in software applications. Its extensive features and widespread adoption by major companies and organizations attest to its reliability and importance in the field of software internationalization and localization.”

the reasons behind this review :
Mature and widely used set of C/C++ and Java libraries for Unicode and globalization support, Released under a nonrestrictive open source license, Provides consistent results across platforms and between C/C++ and Java software, Services include code page conversion, collation, formatting, time calculations, Unicode support, regular expressions, BiDi, text boundaries, and more, Unicode is essential for efficient text processing in any language and maintaining text data integrity, Unicode simplifies high-level processing and ensures consistent results in conformant software, Globalized software based on Unicode maximizes market reach and minimizes cost, ICU4C fills the gap in C and C++ languages and many operating system environments by providing full support for Unicode and standards-compliant text handling services, ICU4C provides an open, flexible, and portable foundation for software globalization requirements, ICU4C closely tracks industry standards, including Unicode and CLDR (Common Locale Data Repository), ICU4J extends Java's Unicode and internationalization support, focusing on performance, staying current with the Unicode standard, and providing richer APIs, ICU4J remains as compatible as possible with the original Java text and internationalization API design, ICU is used by a wide range of products, companies, and organizations, including major tech companies like Adobe, Amazon, Apple, Google, IBM, Microsoft, and others, Also utilized in various open-source projects and by government institutions, Demonstrates widespread adoption and trust within the industry, Reputable and widely used for Unicode and globalization support in software applications, Extensive features and widespread adoption by major companies and organizations attest to its reliability and importance in the field of software internationalization and localization